After a group of men had eaten and drunk their fill, they sat in the courtyard drinking tea and chatting. Inside the house, the women cleaned up the leftover food on the table and then washed the dishes.
Li Xiangdong saw several large winnowing baskets placed on the wooden planks in the yard, filled with golden potato slices and dark green string beans drying in the sun.
"Uncle Cui, did you dry all these potatoes and green beans at home?"
"Yeah, we dry them every year at home to eat in the winter. If you want some, take them with you when you go back. We also have dried cucumbers, dried eggplants, and hazel mushrooms at home!"
Li Xiangdong quickly thanked him, "Uncle Cui, if you have any extra dried vegetables, I'll take them too! Including dried bracken, dried monkey leg mushrooms, and dried asparagus sprouts, I'll take them all!"
Hearing Li Xiangdong's words, Uncle Ergou quickly squeezed over, "Dongzi, Dongzi, do you want some Ao Ao Jiao? We also have Schisandra chinensis, pig snout mushrooms and stuff?"
"want!"
Li Xiangdong's answer was resolute. He knew that Schisandra chinensis was a medicinal herb that could cure insomnia, and that pig snout mushroom sounded like a type of mushroom.
But what's with this howling?
He asked that question because he was thinking about it.
The men present burst into laughter upon hearing Li Xiangdong's question, then looked him up and down. "Dongzi, you're still young, you don't know the benefits of screaming!"
"That's right, you'll understand why this thing makes such a loud noise once you get married!"
Uncle Ergou winked at Li Xiangdong and said, "When the time comes, you'll drink a cup of 'Aoaojiao's' tea, and I guarantee your wife will scream all night long!"
Listening to these men spouting lewd remarks, Li Xiangdong was speechless. He roughly knew what "howling" meant—it was an aphrodisiac!
Old Cui explained to Li Xiangdong, "The grass that grows loudly is called Golden Grass. When dried, it's called Kidney Essence Tea, which can nourish the kidneys."
In the summer, the people here go to the hillside to pick fresh golden grass, which they then dry to make kidney essence tea.
Some people also pick the golden grass directly from the trees in winter. At that time, the golden grass has already dried naturally into strands, and people can climb up the big trees and grab a handful at a time.
However, harvesting golden grass in winter is risky because you have to climb very high up the trees to get it. The tree trunks are covered with snow in winter and are slippery. If you miss a step, you will fall from the tree.
Li Xiangdong thought that if this kidney essence tea were transported to big cities and properly managed, it would definitely sell like hotcakes!
"Uncle Er Gou, I want all of your Aowaojiao!"
Uncle Er Gou was overjoyed, "Then I'll go to my house and get it right away!"
As he spoke, he hurriedly stood up to leave, but he had drunk too much today. Although he could still think clearly and speak clearly, he tripped and fell flat on his face!
"Ouch! Hahahaha~"
Those nearby quickly helped Er Gou up. Er Gou dusted himself off and chuckled foolishly, "Who tripped me?"
The village chief stopped them, "Alright, alright! You've all had too much to drink. We can talk about it tomorrow! Go home and get some sleep!"
After everyone in the yard had left, the village chief came over and patted Li Jin on the back, saying, "Go inside and get some sleep! You're not the same as you used to be."
Li Jin was indeed a little drowsy. "Village Chief... Uncle, I'll go visit Auntie at your house tomorrow. Well, I'll go back to my room and get some sleep first!"
The Cui family had three main rooms, with large kang beds in both the east and west rooms. Cui Xinni moved her bedding to her parents' room and cleared out the entire west room for Li Jin and his group of five to stay in.
The window beside the kang (a heated brick bed) was wide open, yet there wasn't a single mosquito. A cool breeze blew in through the window, and Li Xiangdong hadn't rested in such a comfortable and cool environment in a long time.
He lay on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), his hands behind his head, legs crossed, and slowly became sleepy amidst the different rhythms of his snores.
His eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and drowsiness swept over him like the sea from all directions. Before long, he drifted into a sweet dream.
The next morning, Li Xiangdong was awakened by the chirping of birds.
I looked at my watch; it was a little past four in the morning.
It was already broad daylight outside.
Li Xiangdong rubbed his eyes and looked at Li Jiabao, who was still fast asleep beside him. For a moment, he had no idea where he was.
After a while, I realized that I was in Zahatun and had slept from yesterday afternoon until the next morning!
Li Xiangdong quickly dressed and walked out of the house. In the courtyard, Li Jin was chatting with Lao Cui, while Xin Ni'er was directing Zhou Hongsong and He Chaochao to help her chop firewood.
"Get up, Dongzi!"
Old Cui looked up and saw Li Xiangdong. He only had one precious daughter, and he was extremely fond of Li's two sons.
"Hey, Uncle Cui, why does it get light so early here?"
"That's how it is here. A few days ago, it got light at two or three in the morning."
...
The morning breeze has a shape; it comes slowly down from the distant mountain with the ever-swaying pine trees and blows onto people's faces.
"The wind is still chilly in the middle of summer!"
Li Xiangdong rubbed the goosebumps that suddenly rose on his arm from the wind.
He looked into the distance and saw wisps of white smoke rising up and then dissipating in mid-air; this was the smoke from the cooking fires of the villagers.
Breakfast was corn porridge, with each golden corn kernel distinct, while the broth was a thick paste. One sip revealed the refreshing taste of corn kernels.
With the corn porridge, fresh vegetables with dipping sauce, and large steamed buns, Li Xiangdong had a hearty appetite, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead as he ate.
Aunt Cui was pleased with how he ate so heartily and without restraint. "Dongzi, is the food Auntie makes delicious?"
"Delicious! It's just like that!"
Li Xiangdong gave a thumbs up.
"Haha, okay, okay! Stay home a few more days, Auntie will cook you delicious food every day!"
Aunt Cui smiled broadly and, seeing that his bowl was empty, immediately ladled him another bowl of corn porridge.
While everyone was eating, Xin Ni'er's fiancé, Niu San Tiao, a hunter from the village, arrived.
He put the basket he was carrying by the door, greeted everyone, and then sat quietly to the side waiting for Xinni'er to eat.
After finishing his meal, Old Cui put down his bowl, wiped his lips with the back of his hand, and walked over to look at the basket that Niu San Tiao had put down. Inside was a large wooden stake with several white lingzhi mushrooms on it.
He counted them; there were twelve of them, big and small!
Old Cui exclaimed, "Good heavens, they've wiped out the entire nest of white lingzhi! Shall we head to the mountain market later?"
Niu San Tiao's succinct reply was, "Yeah, that's it."
Upon hearing this, Li Xiangdong also came over to take a look. He saw that there were fan-shaped white Ganoderma lucidum growing on the wooden stake, with concentric rings and shallow radiating patterns on it.
"Brother San Tiao, how much are you planning to sell it for? Sell it to me!"
Niu Santiao scratched the back of his head, then looked at Xin Nier and Lao Cui. He pinched his right fingers together, "Seven yuan?"
"no problem!"
Li Xiangdong readily agreed, "Brother San Tiao, can you take us to the mountain produce market for a while longer?"
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